Damien nudged her once Dante had left again. "You can come if you want. We'll probably go for a run, but you can get to know some of the other family members. And watch me beat my little cousin into the dirt."

"Are you sure?" Rose asked. "I don't want to intrude or anything."

Damien shrugged. "You won't be. Besides, they're all going to want to meet you anyway. And it's easier to talk freely when there aren't people around."

"If you're sure it won't be an issue," Rose replied. She grinned a bit and leaned against him.

"Trust me, I'm sure." Damien grinned briefly and held her there until food arrived and he sort of had to let go of her so she could eat.

It didn't take Rose long to get through her lunch, and then she settled in next to Damien again.

"We'll have to come back again sometime," she said.

Damien nodded with a smile. "Whenever you'd like. It's not too far away, after all." Unlike his parents, who weren't even on the same side of the country.

"Thanks," Rose replied, giving him a kiss.

Damien smiled and got up once they were done and he'd paid.

"Alright, I suppose I should unleash you on the shops now." He grinned teasingly at her.

"For now," Rose replied, grinning back. "There's only so much I can buy at once."

Damien snickered. "Yeah, we'll see how that works," he teased with a grin. "Go ahead, go see if you find anything interesting. Every other storefront here is a shop."

Rose grinned and gave him a kiss.

"You may regret setting me free here," she teased.

Damien laughed quietly. "I doubt that. This is what cars are for: extra storage when I no longer feel like carrying your things."

Rose couldn't help but laugh a bit at that.

"Fair enough," she said. She took his hand. "Now come on, I'm going to need your opinion on some things," she said as she pulled him into a small boutique.

Damien heaved a good-natured sigh and followed her into the store, content to let her shop around for a while with him.

Rose spent a few hours going from store to store, although she actually didn't buy all that much. Some clothes here and there, a pair of shoes, and a piece of jewelry or two, but that was it.

"Alright, I think that's good for today," she said after the last store.

Damien nodded and carried the bags back to his car.

"Alright. We should probably go ahead and find a hotel for the night, then."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Rose replied. "I'll follow you."

Damien nodded and walked over to a decently nice hotel, getting a room for the two of them on the second floor. It wasn't a big hotel, but it was clean and comfortable, and he didn't care about much more than that.

Rose stayed next to him as they went to get the hotel room. She didn't care that it wasn't five-star or anything; it was clean and decent, that's what mattered to her.

"It's nice," she said as she set her things next to the bed.

Damien nodded. "Yeah. Cute place." He grinned briefly and stretched out. "Well, what do you feel like doing now?"

"Relaxing sounds nice," Rose replied, settling down next to him. She gave him a quick kiss. "Unless you had other plans."

"Nope." Damien grinned and shucked his shoes, flopping out on the bed and getting comfortable. And making sure there was a nice little space for her.

A nice little space Rose promptly claimed as her own, settling in and snuggling close to him once she'd kicked off her own shoes. She sighed softly as she got comfortable there.

Damien smiled, pleased, and settled down there for a while, his eyes slipping half-closed. He was a very happy shifter now.